1 Plus ca change: barriers to innovation in survey research Patrick Sturgis, University of Southampton and National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM)

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Presentation on theme: "1 Plus ca change: barriers to innovation in survey research Patrick Sturgis, University of Southampton and National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM)"— Presentation transcript:

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1 Plus ca change: barriers to innovation in survey research Patrick Sturgis, University of Southampton and National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) Paper presented at Government Statistical Service Conference, London, July

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2 NCRM Network of >10 universities offering an integrated programme of methodological research and training Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods Online archive of papers, videos, presentations, toolkits, etc. Bursary scheme to support training attendance Find out more at

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4 5-point Likert agree/disagree format Probably the most widely used attitude question format in the UK and throughout the world BSA, ESS, BHPS, BCS, Taking Part, cohort studies, WVS, EVS, etc. etc…. But it has long been recognised that there are some major problems with this approach

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7 Neither/nor mid-points Perhaps the most common form of middle alternative is the ‘neither/nor’ in Likert items Usually treated analytically as implying ‘neutrality’, or being ‘in the middle’ on the issue But it is also logically consistent with having no opinion If I do not have an opinion on an issue, it is true that I am neither in favour nor opposed to the statement

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9 Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the performance of the European Commission? 1. Very satisfied 2. Fairly satisfied 3. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 4. Fairly dissatisfied 5. Very dissatisfied

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10 How important or unimportant do you think it is it for Britain to be at the forefront of developments in nanotechnology? 1. Very important 2. Fairly important 3. Neither important nor unimportant 4. Not very important 5. Not at all important

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12 For those selecting ‘neither/nor’: Which of the following statements best describes why you are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the performance of the European Commission? 1.I don’t really have an opinion on this issue 2.I have an opinion which is right in the middle on this issue 3.Neither of the above If (3) Could you tell me what led you to say you are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied? –PROBE FULLY. For what other reasons? –RECORD VERBATIM

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17 “However, you will have to balance this against the policy needs of your funders; changing the question and/or response categories will mean that the data you collect will not be comparable to other surveys against which you may be benchmarking your data”.

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18 Some predictions for 2020 General population surveys will routinely be conducted using web data collection Interviewing conducted by avatars 5-point agree/disagree questions with neither/nor mid-point still widely used.

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19 Some previous predicitons Frank Dobson for Mayor of London West Ham premier league champions 2010